Welcome to the Bank Street Children's Book Committee's (CBC) Searchable Best Books List, a tool designed to help educators, families, librarians, and others access developmentally appropriate and engaging books for young readers (ages birth - 18).
Our online Searchable Best Books List draws from the committee's annual Best Children's Books of the Year-beginning with the list of books published in 2000-with each featuring more than 600 high-quality titles for young readers.
To share feedback about the tool, please feel free to email bookcom@bankstreet.edu. To learn more about the CBC, visit https://www.bankstreet.edu/cbc/.
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Revolution
by Jennifer Donnelly
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Music genius seventeen-year-old Andi leaves her privileged world of private school Brooklyn to adventure in Paris, in both her present and in the mysterious past of another.
by Jennifer Donnelly
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Music genius seventeen-year-old Andi leaves her privileged world of private school Brooklyn to adventure in Paris, in both her present and in the mysterious past of another.
Ship Breaker
by Paolo Bacigalupi
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Teenager Nailer scavenges ships for parts to survive in a futuristic society while confronting issues of loyalty, love, and parental conflicts.
by Paolo Bacigalupi
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Teenager Nailer scavenges ships for parts to survive in a futuristic society while confronting issues of loyalty, love, and parental conflicts.
Sorta Like a Rock Star
by Matthew Quick
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
When homeless seventeen-year-old Amber's Mom is murdered, her can-do optimism is put to a test.
by Matthew Quick
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
When homeless seventeen-year-old Amber's Mom is murdered, her can-do optimism is put to a test.
Tangled
by Carolyn Mackler
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
After meeting briefly on an island vacation, four teens look inside themselves, face their insecurities, and become more confident.
by Carolyn Mackler
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
After meeting briefly on an island vacation, four teens look inside themselves, face their insecurities, and become more confident.
The Agency
by Y. S. Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Rescued from the gallows at twelve, Mary Quinn finds herself working for an undercover detective agency. Her hair-raising adventure in Victorian London lead to the establishment of her own identity.
by Y. S. Lee
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Rescued from the gallows at twelve, Mary Quinn finds herself working for an undercover detective agency. Her hair-raising adventure in Victorian London lead to the establishment of her own identity.
The Curse Workers: White Cat
by Holly Black
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Cassel, a misfit in a family of con artists, is trying hard to lead a “normal” life until terrifying dreams tell him he will need to do more to survive.
by Holly Black
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Cassel, a misfit in a family of con artists, is trying hard to lead a “normal” life until terrifying dreams tell him he will need to do more to survive.
The Knife that Killed Me
by Anthony McGowan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Paul's nemesis, the school bully, creates a situation in which others are doomed. A powerful story about gang violence in contemporary England.
by Anthony McGowan
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Paul's nemesis, the school bully, creates a situation in which others are doomed. A powerful story about gang violence in contemporary England.
The Last Great Getaway of the Water Balloon Boys
by Scott William Carter
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Teenagers Charlie and Jake take a wild road trip that changes their lives forever.
by Scott William Carter
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Teenagers Charlie and Jake take a wild road trip that changes their lives forever.
The Life of Glass
by Jillian Cantor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
When thirteen-year-old Melissa's father dies, she holds onto her memories of him by continuing his journal, and unwittingly begins a journey of self-discovery.
by Jillian Cantor
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
When thirteen-year-old Melissa's father dies, she holds onto her memories of him by continuing his journal, and unwittingly begins a journey of self-discovery.
The Lighter Side of Life and Death
by C. K. Kelly Martin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Fifteen-year-old Mason explores his new identity after his first sexual encounter and his father's marriage to a woman with two children.
by C. K. Kelly Martin
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Fifteen-year-old Mason explores his new identity after his first sexual encounter and his father's marriage to a woman with two children.
The Lonely Hearts Club
by Elizabeth Eulberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
When Penny is betrayed by her boyfriend Nate, she swears off boys and starts a club to empower like-minded high school friends. The results are not what she expected.
by Elizabeth Eulberg
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
When Penny is betrayed by her boyfriend Nate, she swears off boys and starts a club to empower like-minded high school friends. The results are not what she expected.
The Mark
by Jen Nadol
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Sixteen-year-old Cassie has inherited the ability to forsee other people's death day in this literate tale of fate, love, and warring philosophies.
by Jen Nadol
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Sixteen-year-old Cassie has inherited the ability to forsee other people's death day in this literate tale of fate, love, and warring philosophies.
The Secret to Lying
by Todd Mitchell
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
At a new high school, James experiments with romance and reinvents himself via a web of creative lies which escalate toward self-destruction.
by Todd Mitchell
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
At a new high school, James experiments with romance and reinvents himself via a web of creative lies which escalate toward self-destruction.
The Vinyl Princess
by Yvonne Prinz
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Against the backdrop of Berkeley, California, sixteen-year-old Allie, a self-confessed music geek, defines her life, loves, and notions of family.
by Yvonne Prinz
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Against the backdrop of Berkeley, California, sixteen-year-old Allie, a self-confessed music geek, defines her life, loves, and notions of family.
You
by Charles Benoit
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Fifteen-year-old Kyle chooses to befriend the manipulative Zack -- and faces the dire consequences of his choice.
by Charles Benoit
Ages: 14+
Published: 2010
Fifteen-year-old Kyle chooses to befriend the manipulative Zack -- and faces the dire consequences of his choice.
After the Moment
by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Leigh changes high schools to help his stepsister after the death of her father, and then gets involved in trying to protect her complicated best friend.
by Garret Freymann-Weyr
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Leigh changes high schools to help his stepsister after the death of her father, and then gets involved in trying to protect her complicated best friend.
Angry Management
by Chris Crutcher
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
In three short stories, teenagers struggle and find ways to cope with anger and precarious life situations.
by Chris Crutcher
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
In three short stories, teenagers struggle and find ways to cope with anger and precarious life situations.
Backtracked
by Pedro de Alcantara
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Fifteen-year-old Tommy's time travels teach him a lot about early 20th-century immigrant life, the Depression, World War II--and himself.
by Pedro de Alcantara
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Fifteen-year-old Tommy's time travels teach him a lot about early 20th-century immigrant life, the Depression, World War II--and himself.
Because I am Furniture
by Thalia Chaltas
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Fourteen-year-old Anke feels like an invisible witness to her father's abusiveness toward her siblings. Will she be able to summon the courage to take action? Free verse.
by Thalia Chaltas
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Fourteen-year-old Anke feels like an invisible witness to her father's abusiveness toward her siblings. Will she be able to summon the courage to take action? Free verse.
Breathless
by Lurlene McDaniel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Once a star of his high school swim team, Travis now battles terminal bone cancer. Does he have the right to decide when and how he dies?
by Lurlene McDaniel
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Once a star of his high school swim team, Travis now battles terminal bone cancer. Does he have the right to decide when and how he dies?
Broken Soup
by Jenny Valentine
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
When fifteen-year-old Rowan's older brother dies, she must deal with her own grief as well as that of her parents and younger sister.
by Jenny Valentine
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
When fifteen-year-old Rowan's older brother dies, she must deal with her own grief as well as that of her parents and younger sister.
Cold Skin
by Steven Herrick
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
A rural Australian coal town after world War II confronts the brutal murder of a teenage girl and discovers truths about their community. Told in verse.
by Steven Herrick
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
A rural Australian coal town after world War II confronts the brutal murder of a teenage girl and discovers truths about their community. Told in verse.
Destroy All Cars
by Blake Nelson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Seventeen-year-old James fights consumerism and global warming while trying to deal with dating and his future.
by Blake Nelson
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Seventeen-year-old James fights consumerism and global warming while trying to deal with dating and his future.
Going Bovine
by Libba Bray
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Sixteen-year-old Cameron, diagnosed with Cruezfeldt-Jakob's disease, goes on a quest and learns to trust and to care.
by Libba Bray
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Sixteen-year-old Cameron, diagnosed with Cruezfeldt-Jakob's disease, goes on a quest and learns to trust and to care.
Gringolandia
by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Together with his family, Daniel, a seventeen-year-old Chilean refugee, tries to understand the effects of torture on their politically activist father.
by Lyn Miller-Lachmann
Ages: 14+
Published: 2009
Together with his family, Daniel, a seventeen-year-old Chilean refugee, tries to understand the effects of torture on their politically activist father.